Finally, One Place Joojoo Beats the iPad

Josh Topolsky, head of the Engadget blogging machine, has gotten his hands on the JooJoo tablet for an un-boxing and first hands-on. The machine itself looks to be as clunky and doomed as we expected (flipping from portrait to landscape mode with the accelerometer results in a jarring, non-animated transition, for example), but the $500 tablet has one rather fetching aspect: the box.

One of the aspects of Apple’s products that is usually better than the competition is the packaging. In recent years it has become minimal but still thoughtful, but in the days of the original iPod it was jaw-dropping gorgeous, with each element, down to the earbud sponges, encased in sci-fi silvery plastic envelopes. JooJoo, the tablet that sold just 90 pre-orders, manages to out-Apple Apple.

The simple white cardboard box has some rather striking typography, similar to Helvetica but with a modified “j” (if you know what this font is, let us know in the comments). The whole thing comes over as very classy. As iPhone developer Neven Morgan points out, it looks a lot like the old packaging for Ilford photo paper.

Still, we doubt a fancy box will save the JooJoo from obscurity, but at least those of you who do buy one just for its historical value will have something pretty to keep on the shelf.